Federal Government Public Assistance programs and General Assistance available in States!
How to apply government assistance through Public Assistance programs and General Assistance available in individual states?
Accessing public assistance programs for many people can be intimidating, embarrassing, and for some, even shameful. It is difficult to admit that due to your circumstances, caused by you or outside influences out of your control, you cannot adequately provide for yourself and for those that you love.
However, that is exactly why these general assistance and public assistance programs have been put into place. Whether you've been socked with medical bills, have lost a job and cannot find another, or had to pay some unexpected bills that have left your savings in the dust, there are public assistance programs just waiting for you to apply for them. If you are a single mother, then there is
financial aid for single mothers
is available to help you financially.
on the national level, the United States overs too many programs to list individually. From children's health insurance to providing vaccines to employment and training assistance, the Federal Government may have a program for you. You can access a list of all of these programs at
http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Benefits.shtml
.
When it comes to providing day-to-day assistance, each of the 50 states have many excellent
financial help programs
that can give you a pick-me-up when your income and assets are feeling light due to unforeseen circumstances. Each state has their own programs and requirements can differ from state-to-state, but let's take a look at a few of the programs that are common to a vast majority of the states, how to apply for assistance, and how to use this assistance to be able to get back on your feet once again and not need any outside help.
Childcare Assistance - Government Public assistance Programs
Many states offer scholarships, grants, or monetary assistance when it comes to day care. As a single parent struggling to make things work for your family, it has been recognized that paying for daycare during the day or night so that you can work eats up a lot of your day-to-day budget. By placing your children with a state-approved facility, many states simply ask you to pay a co-pay based on your income level. Some states also eliminate the co-pay through other assistance programs, again based on your income level. If you are interested in taking advantage of your specific state's child care assistance programs, you can find your state's primary website at http://www.globalcomputing.com/states.html by clicking on your state. once there, simply search for child care assistance and follow the step-by-step instructions there. More information on childcare assistance can be found here - financial assistance
Energy Assistance - Government Public assistance Programs
Many states offer low income families the opportunity to offset some of their heating costs during the winter months. Qualification for energy assistance programs is often based on both income and assets, which allows both homeowners and renters to be able to qualify. These programs often offer two different opportunities - the first is usually called the
Low Income Energy Assistance Program
, or LIEAP.
LIEAP helps pay winter utility people for households that qualify for the program. As an added benefit to qualifying for LIEAP is that a vast majority of utility companies also offer special discounts that only apply for LIEAP customers, and many of these discounts apply throughout the year. In addition, many of the LIEAP programs are not taxpayer funded and instead come through private donations and financing.
The second program, a
weatherization program
, helps qualifying households to lower their heating bills by evaluating their homes heating efficiency. In many cases, most - if not all - of any improvements to the home that assist in increasing the home's heating efficiency are covered by this program.
To find out if your home qualifies, find your state's primary website at
http://www.globalcomputing.com/states.html
and then search for "Energy Assistance." From there, simply follow the links to your state's specific program and answer the questions that will determine your qualification.
More information on energy assistance can be found here -
financial assistance
Medicaid - General Assistance Government Assistance Program
Medicaid is a joint program between the Federal government and local state governments that pays for a broad range of medically necessary health care and other long-term care for households that are defined as low-income by the individual states.
Medicaid is unique in that it is governed under both broad national guidelines and individualized state guidelines and eligibility standards. Each state is also allowed to decide what services to cover and for how long, as well as set the rate of payment for services.
To qualify for Medicaid, most states require you to meet income, asset, AND resource standards, be a legal citizen, and fit into one of these categories:
- Minor children
- Certain relatives, such as siblings, whom are taking care of minor children
- Women in their last trimester of their first pregnancy
- Refugees with dependent minor children
Qualifying Medicaid recipients receive either full or basic Medicaid coverage based on which eligibility group they qualify into. Those who are eligible for full coverage are able to get coverage for all of the services that Medicaid covers in their state, assuming they are considered medically necessary. Full Medicaid is provided to recipients who are:
- Under age 21
- Blind or disabled
- Age 65 or older
- Pregnant
To see if you qualify for Medicaid, you will need to contact your local health and human services office to begin the process of qualification.
Housing assistance is available for single mothers including section 8 housing from Hud.gov. Step by step housing help for single moms can be obtained at - Housing grants .
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families [TANF]
TANF may just be one of the best programs out there. Designed to help out a household in a crisis situation, a qualifying family may only be on TANF for a maximum of 60 months and that time is cumulative - so a household cannot spend 5 years on the program be off of it for a short period of time, and then be on it for another 5 years. In addition to the time stipulation, many state TANF offices work with each other to prevent households from moving state to state to avoid the time limit.
Only certain individuals within your household will qualify for TANF. They are:
- Minor children
- Certain relatives, such as siblings, whom are taking care of minor children
- Women in their last trimester of their first pregnancy
- Refugees with dependent minor children
In addition, your combined household must meet state specific income and asset criteria, each individual receiving TANF must be legal residents of the United States, and they must furnish a valid Social Security number.
Single parents who apply and are accepted into TANF quite often receive additional assistance in acquiring delinquent child support. It should be noted, however, that child support payments that are pursued by the state are kept by the state to compensate for the TANF payments to the qualifying individual(s) in your household. To see if a member of your household qualifies for TANF, simply find your states primary website at http://www.globalcomputing.com/states.html, search for TANF, and then answer the interview questions.
WIC
The goal of the
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program
for Women, Infants, and Children, which is commonly known as WIC, is to give all children the best possible start in life by making sure they get proper nutrition from conception through their preschool years, up to age 5. The program provides access to nutritious foods, such as, milk, eggs, iron-fortified cereals, peanut butter, cheese, and whole grains, as well as formula for mothers who choose not to breastfeed. There are also vegetarian options for families who practice those eating habits.
WIC also provides nutrition education to improve eating behavior through free videos, educational books for toddlers, posters, toys, and other various practicums. Through these materials, WIC hopes that children will learn healthy eating habits early and continue them as they grow older.
To qualify for WIC, you must be either a woman who is pregnant, breastfeeding, or recently had a baby, or a child up to the age 5. In all cases, applicants must meet income guidelines, and a health professional must consider their health to be at risk. Those who qualify for the program must have their eligibility rechecked every 6 months, and those eligibility requirements include health screenings for the mother and all of the qualifying children.
To see if you qualify for WIC, you can either contact your state's WIC office toll free using the chart found at
http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/Contacts/tollfreenumbers.htm
, or you can look up your local WIC office and call for an appointment as different regions may have different qualifying standards.
With these programs and others like it, the goal of all of them is to have happy, healthy families that will eventually be able to support themselves once again on their own. Many of them teach that giving back is just as essential as receiving, and many families that graduate out of these support programs end up giving back and helping even more families who are currently struggling like they once were.
If you have any questions about these programs or others like it, please contact the administrator of this
website
or your local health and human services office for further information.
Statewide Financial Aid and Financial Assistance for Single Mothers
Click on the map below to check your state information
Remember, Federal Government Public Assistance programs and General Assitance programs in States is available for you to utilize.